


Heartburn: Rewritten

by In_Chars_World



Category: Vocaloid
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:46:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22354321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/In_Chars_World/pseuds/In_Chars_World





	1. Kiss and Tell

And that’s when everything changed. 

There was distance between us for a good year now, ever since she started hanging out with the wrong crowd. It was kind of hard for me to stick around. One day, we managed to get together. I needed math notes for class, but she had other plans. 

“Want to watch a movie?” she asked me. “Hm, okay, sure.” Didn’t think much of it... until she kissed me by the third act.

She freaking kissed me! 

The moment went by so quickly that it took me a moment to process it. “Wh... What the hell, Miku?!” I yelled, and her eyes widened. “I- I don’t know what came over me, I’m so sorry, I-” and then I stood up, got my things, and left without saying a word. The bus ride home felt heavy, the adrenaline of the kiss sending my brain into a frenzy. My body felt warm and cold at the same time, my thoughts roaring with questions left and right. It turned me into a total disaster. 

And that’s when everything changed. Forever.

Why? Because the moment I got home, threw my stuff on the floor, jumped onto my bed and muffled my face into my arms, I knew that she wasn’t just a friend to me anymore. And I think I liked it? 

The very next day, the kiss was running through my mind over and over again. I couldn’t concentrate in class, and every intermission that happened, I made the conscious effort to avoid Miku at all costs. It was a huge inconvenience for me since I suck at hiding due to my clumsy nature, and also because of another inconvenience that topped this inconvenience. 

Len fucking Kagamine, or who I’d like to call Bromeo (you’ll learn why in a second), spotted me out and yelled out my name like a phone alarm that rang off during an exam. “Rin!” He yelled, and I literally felt like melting into putty right then and there. “Oh my god, what do you want?” I ask him, and he smiles his cheery attractive smile at me. He comes skipping over to me and grabbed me into his chest in a hug. “Your hair looks like shit,” he said, lifting up a piece of my blonde strands. “Oh give me a break, I had a rough night’s sleep.” I tell him, and he just continues to gleam at me. Len is something else, I’ll tell you that much. He’s been my best friend since we were toddlers, and now we’re both 17 in high school trying to get by with our lives. He loves it though; a sports fanatic so he wears his favorite red varsity sweater all the time, has a personalized football that sits in his locker until gym starts, and when he’s not touching down on the fields he’s trying to gain some attention from a mindless fan-girl that’s two grades below him. He loves to write so he also spends his time writing for the school newspaper, which means he also loves gossip. And whenever he hears something juicy, he just has to tell me. 

“Dude you’ll never guess what I saw in the diner last night when I went out with the boys.” He tells me, and I roll my eyes. I can say the same thing... “I don’t want to guess,” I tell him flatly, and he sets his hands in his pockets. “I found Gumi Megpoid swapping lips with the twelve grade English teacher, check this out,” he states excitedly, pulling his phone out from his pocket and showing me a very muggy picture with a blur of green and a blur of brown definitely merged together in the act of osculation. “Wait, ain’t he like, 27?” I ask, and Len just smiles wider. “I know, right?! And Gumi’s 18!” I grab Len’s phone and attempt to delete the photo. “H-hey wait don’t do that!” Len yells, attempting to grab his phone back. In an attempt to get his phone away from him, I fling my arm into the air and travel backwards, making Len reaching for it and letting us bump into other students. 

“Len, you know how much trouble she’ll get into if you share this with anyone el-” I yell, Len still towering over me to get his phone back. ”-Okay, I know that, but I thought you hated Gumi? Why do you care?” Eventually I stumbled back, kicking against the garbage can and landing straight inside it. “Aah!” I yell, banana peels and milk cartons all over me. “Oh my gosh Rin I’m so sorry-” Len says, reaching to get me up, when all of a sudden I hear a laugh. Speak of the Devil... Ladies and gentlemen, meet Bromeo’s Juliet.

“Wow, just keep getting clumsier every day, huh Ms Kagamine?” Gumi states, walking towards me with her sassy posse and her sassy self. “Fuck off,” I retort, standing myself up and successfully deleting the photo. I hand Len his phone back and he looks like he wants to cry. “Or what, you’ll punch me?” She says, and I glare at her. “I said, fuck off.” I respond, and she giggles. “Sorry, but I see a hottie over here, so I won’t be doing that. You’ll just have to deal with me.” She says, shoving me aside with her hips and batting her eyes at Len. “Hi Len, there’s a bonfire happening at my place tonight, wanna come along?” She says, making Len look at her and then at me. “Actually Gumi,” he says, and walking around her. “I’m gonna spend tonight with Rin. You understand, don’t you kitty?” He says, and Gumi frowns. “Ugh, whatever. And don’t call me kitty, you lost your rights.” She says, and then walks off to her next class. “Thanks, Len.” I tell him, and he smiles at me once again. “Anything for basically the clumsiest person in the world,” he says, and I laugh at that. At that point, the bell rings. “I’ll go take you to the lost and found, maybe they can give you a sweater for... well, the mess.” Len says, and I pull on my shirt. I didn’t even notice the chocolate milk that stained it. It covered my crotch area in some places too, which isn’t a cute look. I sigh and smile back at Len. 

“I don’t care, let’s get to class.”

Fortunately, with all the ruckus we caused, I’m grateful we didn’t get detention... or Miku’s attention.

~~~

“And it was right here, too!” Len said, pointing at the spot where he caught Gumi kissing the English teacher. “That’s... kinda gross, dude.” I respond, and he beams. “I know, I love it!” “You’re disgusting,” I say in return, and shove him with my hand. “Anyway, that was my night. How about you? What’d you do?” He asks me, leaning back in his seat. We decided to spend the evening in his favorite spot, the diner that he basically lives in at this point because he visits it everyday, eating some teriyaki chicken with rice and broccoli. He gets favors for being one of their best customers, which impresses me. 

It was at this point that I felt my nerves going numb, remembering the very confusing kiss that happened last night. I can’t believe it’s been that long already. Knowing Len, I almost didn’t want to tell him, but because he’s my best friend, I kind of feel inclined to. “Okay but promise you won’t put me in the tabloids,” I say, half joking. Len smiles at me, chin on hands, with the utmost sincerity. “I would never do that to you.” He says, and I roll my eyes. “Again,” I say, and he laughs. “Oh come on, it was a good story!” He says, and I smile back. “I had our whole class call me Butt Frog for a week!” 

We laughed, and continued eating. Soon a certain silence fell over us. “Len... how does one know if they’re... uh, gay?” I say, and Len focuses his eyeballs on me, slurping up the complementary noodles. “A-asking for a friend,” I say, my face feeling warm all of a sudden. “I mean, I’m pretty straight myself, but I think a good indicator is that they actually have a crush on the same sex.” He says, and I cross my arms. “Yeah but like... what’s a crush?” I ask, and Len stares at me like I just said nonsense. “How do you not know what a crush is, you’ve literally had like three boyfriends before.” 

I tilt my head slightly to the left, and groan. “Obviously not what I’m asking, you dumbass. I mean, like, what does it feel like, really? All those past relationships weren’t... real. And you know that.” I respond, shoving more food into my mouth. “I don’t know, man. I’ve only been in love once and that was in ninth. You know the story-” I this point, I interject, “about Miara Rose, yes yes I know.” I begin to push my food remains aside, staring at the pieces of rice one by one. 

“I mean, I can tell you that it felt... almost sickening. I was entranced by everything about her. Her black straight hair, her almond blue eyes, her cute freckles, her voice... Oh man, her voice. And the way she said my name... Orgasmic.” Len says, shoving more food into his mouth. I sigh, feeling warmth in my stomach now. “She was amazing. To everybody. And to me.” Len looks down at his own plate with solemn sadness. “Shame she moved, she could have been my saving grace.” He says, and I stare at him for a second. “Wait, what friend do you suspect is gay? Do I know them?” Len questions, immediately perking up. There’s the Len I know.

“It’s uh... Well uh...” I stutter, feeling the warmth return to my face. “Oh my god I bet it’s Keisha!” Len exclaims, and I stare at him baffled. “What? Who’s that?” I say, and Len tsks. “Right, you don’t know her. How about... Maddie? Evelyn? Luka? Adora? Jackie? Jo-” 

“OH MY GOD STOP, IT’S ME.” I yell at Len, and his eyes widened. “Oh shit, so you’re a lesbi-?” I shush him before anyone else could hear. “I don’t know, can you shut up?” Len begins to smile his damn smile again. “Oh my gosh, who is it? Who’s the lucky lady?” He states, and I sigh. “Miku.”

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? Miku?? Like, THE Miku, Miku Hatsune?” Len says, and I glare at him. “Want to say that any louder?” I ask, and he raises his hands in defense. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I’m just-- holy shit! That’s awesome, dude!” Len responds, making me blush. “Not really, no... Because she kissed me and I’m like, not too sure what to think about it.” Len relaxes his face. “Well, how did it feel?” I look to the side of my vision. “I... I was shocked. I didn’t know what to feel, or how to feel. All I know is that it’s been on my mind nonstop and I don’t know what to do.” I say, shoving my face into my hands. 

Len puts on his best thinking face and hums. “Hmmm, I have an idea!” He states, and I look up at him in weariness. “What is it, Einstein?” 

“Write a song about it and perform it to her!” Len says, and now it’s my turn to widen my eyes. “What?? No way, you know I’ve got stage fright, let alone the courage to confess to someone.” I say, and Len puts his fists onto his hips. “Oh come on, Rin. You have a wonderful voice, and besides, the talent show’s coming up! It would be perfect! Or I could just... Tell her myself since we’re friends-” 

“What? When?? You’re friends with Miku?” I question, and he nods. “Yep! And I can just text her right no-” “OKAY OKAY I’LL DO IT, YOU FUCKER. But you owe me your school notes.” I say, and Len shakes his head. “Ah, you and your nerdiness with school. Never fails to amuse me. You’re a straight A, girl! Let loose a little! Let the wolves come out to play!” Len says, and I hide my face in my hands again and groan. “Please, please shut up...” I say, and he laughs.

“Here’s your check,” says the waiter, making Len stop. “Ah, my bad. Here we go.” He says, putting money on the table.

~~~

Once I got home, I repeated the cycle of throwing my shit on the floor and lying on my bed. It didn’t take long for me to get back up and examine myself in my mirror. A common practice of mine; I actively search out my imperfections. My hair is probably too short, maybe I should grow it out? My nose is too small, too bad surgery’s expensive. My eyes don’t look Asian, even though I’m Japanese. I live in a Japanese neighborhood, so I stand out. Great, attention. I hate attention. God, are those my very obvious freckles or are those acne scars? I don’t know. I observe my stomach next. I’ve got some chub to me, maybe I should lay off the sweets? Ha, over my dead body. I love my eclairs and flan. 

I brush my fingers through my hair before deciding that was tiring and going back to my bed. Once I landed on my sleep shuttle, I heard my phone buzz. Great, now I have to get up again. I get up to grab my phone, and it turns out that buzz came from Miku herself. Oh boy! I wonder what that could be! I felt my stomach warming up, the anticipation of whatever the text could be is thrilling me to bits. I inhale, and open it up. 

“Heyyyyyyyyyyy”

Oh cool, a simple hey with multiple Y’s. Super classy. I bite my bottom lip, and with an exhale I let my fingers do the talking. 

“Hi”

Wow, I’m so sophisticated. 

“So about the kiss...”

I knew it. I knew this was coming. It had to come now. And yet... I’m still so, so anxious about this. 

“Yeah... It was definitely a kiss”

I’m actually an idiot.

“You kinda just... left without saying goodbye, haha”

I gulp. That was super rude on my end, right? 

“I just... where did that come from? Why?”

Miku is typing. I’m going to puke.

“It was heat in the moment. I didn’t mean to make things awkward. I’m sorry, Rinny :(“

Why is she so damn cute?!

I rub my face with exasperation. It took me a while to figure out a response, until my phone buzzed again. 

“Do you still want to hang out? I missed you and I don’t want things to be awkward and ruin us.”

I inhale, preparing myself to answer. Can I truly face her again? After all that?

“Okay. Tomorrow at 5. Ol' playground?”

“That’ll be wonderful. :)”


	2. Consequences

When I was a kid, I would ride my bike to get to the playground. It was my favorite playground in the world. It was even better when I got the chance to spend time with Miku there. We would play pirates and princesses a lot. Of course, I was the pirate, and she was the princess. I would get a classmate of mine to play along by kidnapping her, and I’d have to cross the entire playground to save her. The plot twist was that Miku didn’t need to be saved because she already escaped, and the rest of the game was just me chasing after her across the park. 

It was innocent. Now it’s... kind of not. I see a lot of teenagers trying to smoke pot here without getting caught, and maybe gang related activities happen too. I wouldn’t know, since my mom stopped taking me here due to the obvious reason that I am literally 17 years old. Pretty sure the gang stuff is just a rumor to get people to stop coming out here at night but I’ve definitely seen and smelled the awful scent of weed. Despite all of that, it still has a charm to it, since I grew up in it. It just lost it’s magic.

Maybe that’s what happens to friendships too. I’ve known Miku since my first year in primary school. She was always with me when I wasn’t spending time with Len (which was more often than you’d think since he’d go and play some sort of bogus sport that no one understood how to play yet). And yet... I don’t know. She started out so kind and caring and sweet... And she definitely is those things, but then she started to become this manic party person. I don’t know where her parents are, but they definitely don’t keep a close eye on her. Rumor has it, she’s slept with the whole school. 

And I just didn’t want to associate with that. 

Of course it hurt to distant myself from her, I always enjoyed her company when she was around me. I always felt a sense of giddiness when she would touch my arms or my hands and smile at me. She was just so lovely... Until she was not. The movie night thing must have been a cave in to a craving I didn’t know I had: the desire to be with Miku again. But then she kissed me... Why? Is she going to manipulate me, too? I just don’t know, and that is why I’m meeting up with her.

“Hiya.” She says, smiling her sweet, friendly smile at me. My stomach was turning, and I could feel my palms begin to sweat. “Why did you do it?” I ask, no hesitation. Her smile turns into a frown, and she cowards herself in a little against the fence. “I thought we weren’t gonna make it awkward.” She said, and I purse my lips a little. “It’s going to be awkward if we don’t talk about it. Especially since it’s been on my mind ever since.” Miku lit up a little at hearing that, but still she kept her small and defensive frame. “I just... I missed you. So much. I don’t know what came over me, I’m sorry.” Her face reads sincerity, but her body language seems just as tense as I feel. I relax my shoulders and inhale. “I don’t... want you to be sorry.” I say, looking down awkwardly. “You... don’t?” She says, and I let go of the breath I was holding. 

“I... missed you too, Miku.” I say, looking at her. Her beautiful green eyes lit up, and she smiled softly in response. “Are we still friends?” Miku asks, her gorgeous deep seafoam colored hair falling softly against her face. “Well... I don’t know.” I say, hand on my neck. “You don’t just kiss your friends.” 

Miku frowns and lowers her head in defeat. “I understand...” 

“But I mean, I guess you do kiss girlfriends, haha,” I say, my face definitely reddening now. 

Miku’s eyes were like saucers at that. “Are you implying that we-“

I shrug and show her a half smile. “I mean, I wouldn’t mind...”

At first, Miku was just looking at me, staring into my soul, but then she saddened. “I... I can’t.”

Ouch. That was unexpected. 

“What do you mean?” 

“I... I gotta go.” Miku says, and just like that, she’s gone with the wind. 

~~

Entering my home, I enter to my mom cooking in the kitchen. “Uh, hi, mom.” I say, but she doesn’t respond. All that I hear is the sizzling of the pan. “Uh... making dinner?” I say, but she continues to ignore me. At this point, my temper’s rising. “Making dumplings?” I question, my voice rising a bit. “You’re home late.” She states, making my anger reach it’s peak. “Uh, yeah? I was hanging out with a friend.” I say, making my mom look at me. “Shouldn’t you be studying for your upcoming exams?” She question, and I groan. “Seriously? This again? I told you, I studied the topic like twice already.”

“You watch your tone, young lady.” My mom orders, and I barricade my thoughts before I explode. ”Pretty sure last semester you got a B?” 

Knowing that it’s no use to fight with my mom, I groan and prepare to leave the kitchen. “Nice to know that’s all you care about anymore,” I yell, stomping up my stairs to my room. I commence operation throw my shit onto the floor and face-plant into my reverie raft. She has been so obsessive over my grades ever since dad left. I’m sorry but me being valedictorian isn’t going to make him come back. I wish she would just let it go, it’s been three years. Like I get it, you’ve been with him for about a decade, but he was abusive. I just don’t understand why she cares. 

She used to be so cool, but now she’s a monster. Momzilla. I hate it, I hate her. She doesn’t have to be so uptight. I set myself off my bed and go to grab my phone. Lying back on my bed, I unlock my cell to see if there’s any updates. I got at least ten messages from Len, and one from Miku. Hm. Out of anxiety, I check Len’s messages first. Hopefully he can enlighten me from the shitty day I’ve been having. 

“Dude. Science fair’s next Friday, you gonna attend?”

Following that, there’s a bunch of text messages that is basically him fangirling over my crush on Miku. 

“Dude I still can’t believe you have a crush on Miku.

Like, THE Miku Hatsune.

One of the most popular socialites of our school. Like, super hot and social. 

You two would look so cute together tho?? 

Like I’m excited for you, bro. How are you gonna do it? 

Consider writing her a song lol!”

Gosh, Len, you might as well have it tattooed on your forehead that I like her. I smile softly, though, since I know that he just has my best interest in mind. Just as I was about to type a response, I see that he is typing. Does that boy ever let his phone go? 

“Miku’s gonna have a presentation up, lol”  
Oh, of course. He doesn’t actually care about the science fair. He just thinks it’ll feed into his fantasies. Typical.

“Hey dummy, did you forget I have science too? Of course I’m going, I kinda have to.” I respond, already typing my next message.

“Okay but you totally have to like, talk to her and stuff. Make it a date, lol!”

I grumble under my breath.

“Dude, I already tried to ask her out today. Didn’t exactly work out.”

I think I set his bomb off because he’s already typing.

“OH. MY. GOD!!! TELL ME ALL ABOUT IT RIGHT NOW”

Len’s something else, jeez.

“She rejected me... Kind of? Or I don’t know, she didn’t really... answer me? It was weird, it’s got me fucked up.”

If this conversation was being held in person, Len would have hugged me by now. 

“Aw dude I’m so sorry. She’s not worth it then. :( Hey, I know places, I’ll hook you up with another girl, you’ll see.”

I know Len cares about me, but that kind of hurt. I still don’t even know if what I’m feeling for her is... love, I guess? Yet, I still am into the idea of being with her... She’s my friend, I just like her company... Is it normal to want to kiss your friends, after all? I don’t know. I do know that I don’t want anybody else right now, for sure.

“Len, no, she didn’t outright reject me. She just didn’t respond to me. She sent me a text.”

“THEN WHAT ARE YOU DOING TEXTING ME?? GO GET YOUR WIFE DUDE!!”

I throw my head back and swear. God dammit, Len.

“You’re a fucking numb-skull, you know that?”  
I quickly switch over to see what Miku has to say. I can feel my insides become all liquidy as the anxiety swells up. 

“Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii”

Well, that was underwhelming. All that anxiety for nothing, huh?

“I’m sorry about running away. I didn’t know how to react. Rin I’m so sorry I just... I need time to think about it??”

Whoop, there it is. 

My throat started to close a little. I feel insufferable. 

“That’s bullshit, Miku. You’re the one who kissed me?? What the fuck do you mean, ‘I need time to think about it?’ You made the first move. :/”

After I wrote it, I hesitated to send it, but I was too upset to consider it harder. I pressed send, and watched the glowing ellipses shame me for my wrath. 

“I don’t know how many other ways I can say sorry, Rin, but I am. Please, please just give me time. Can I make it up to you?” 

Full of despair, I angrily stare at my phone until I decided to toss it across my room and cry. I knew it, I knew she was just playing games with me. She wants to use me for my body. What a sick and twisted woman. What did I do to deserve that? I was her friend. I gave her my everything. 

Upset with the world, I turned to my sides and cried into my pillow until the world went black.

~~

Beeping. Beeping. Beeping.

I shift myself awake, annoyed with my alarm clock. I press the top of the clock a few times to get it to shut up, but I ultimately missed every click. With enough energy from my annoyance, I stood myself up and turned it off manually. 

Ugh.

I feel like shit.  
I get myself off from my bed and I observe myself in my mirror. Fuck, I slept in my outdoor clothes. They’re terribly baggy for my figure, but since I’m not exactly skinny I don’t think it matters. It’s just a stupid striped shirt with bell sleeves and uh... yellow “jorts”. It’s not as aesthetically pleasing as some of the other more fashionable women in school. Whatever, at least it’s comfortable. Well, except the fishnet stockings. I need to buy new ones soon because these are itching my legs. Ugh, my legs. They’re terribly ashy. Might need to buy lotion, too. 

I walk over to my desk and locate my hair comb to brush my hair out. What time is it? I go to the bathroom, brush my teeth, done. Still feeling like shit.

I checked the time and it turns out that I overslept, so that’s great. How did I sleep earlier, missed dinner, and yet I woke up late anyway? And I still feel horrible? Amazing, even my body doesn’t care. 

Once I switched out clothes, wearing just a sweater that I stole from Len and my plain black tights, I head downstairs to the living room to see if I can find something to eat. I’m starving... 

To my surprise, I noticed my mom on the floor, passed out from who knows what. What was she doing there? Why didn’t she just go to her room? On the counter next to the sink left a tub of food and a note. The piece of paper simply had my name on it, so I figured this was meant to be my dinner. Sauted mushrooms and dumplings with white rice. I’m surprised she didn’t just throw it away with how angry she was at me yesterday. Now that I think about it, what was that about? 

Man, she’s been out of the loop lately. I pick up my bento and insert it into the microwave to heat it up. The beep from the heating contraption startled my mom, waking her up instantly. “Oh, Rin, it’s just you...” she says groggily, making me shift uncomfortably. “Hi mom, uh... what are you doing on the floor?” I ask, without really intending to read too much into this. However, now that my mom is sat up, I can examine her face better and it looks like she’s been crying. My heart sinks to the bottom of my stomach at the sight, but it also makes me want to get out as fast as possible. 

“I, um... I just... I don’t remember. Just.. forget about it, okay? Why aren’t you in school?” 

That question made me tense. “Oh, uh... Teacher holiday.” I say as casually as I can, and to my relief, my mom accepts that. “Huh, alright. I left you some dinner. Enjoy.” She picks herself up and slowly reaches the stairs to go to her own room. Once I heard the door shut, I felt my body heavy with sadness. “My God she’s a mess...” I thought in my head. The microwave went off, and I went to eat my food in peace. 

“Oh, wait, shit, I forgot my phone.” 

I leave my bento onto the table and run up the steps, into my room where I saw my phone on the floor. I picked it up and the screen is shattered. Classic. “Fuck, I can’t afford a new one... Ugh.” I attempt to wipe the tiniest pieces of glass away, and I turn on my phone to see a new message from Len. Nothing from Miku, though. That’s disappointing, but whatever. 

“Heyyyyyyy Rin, did she respond? Are you asleep? Text me back!!”

I don’t expect anything less from that guy. Following the message was sent from this morning, cool. 

“Hey Rin, I missed you man. Me and the boys had the best b-ball tournament today! You should have seen it. Wanna hang at the pizza place? It’s tonight at 6” 

Exasperated, I decline the offer. I have to study apparently, I don’t want my mom to yell at me again over the stupidest shit. I place my phone at my desk, left my room, and resumed to eat. In peace...

~~

Closed. Black. Cold. That’s what I remember from that night. Closed doors. Black vision. Cold stares. I was sleeping when I heard the glass crashing down, and woke to a sea green array of hair. Immediately, I recognized this figure as Miku, who was fast asleep past the noise. I began to hear muffled arguing, which has caused me to quietly leave my bed and investigate. 

I opened the door and walked to my staircase, where I heard the yelling much clearer. It was my parents. 

“Where is it?! Where is the money?” I heard coming from my dad, and a whimper from my mom. “I told you, I’m not going to give it to you anymore! Just let me- ahh!” Retaliated my mom, who fell short to a thump sound. I walked closer to the staircase to see what was going on. “You- You good for nothing piece of shit! You’re nothing but a worthless whore!” I saw my mom on the floor, crying and with a bruise on her cheek. Eventually, my dad left with a kick to my mom’s side and the keys to our house. She was left on the floor, crying, and I left back to my room. 

“Miku... Miku, wake up, wake up... Please...” I tell her, shaking Miku awake.

“Hm, what is it?” She said in a tired voice, and quickly observed my crying face. “My parents were arguing and I--” Miku’s face went alert, and she immediately pulled me into a hug and began rubbing the back of my shoulders. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Shhh.” Immediately I felt comforted, and I cuddled into her arms for warmth. 

I was 11 years old. 11 when I felt it. Closed. Black. Cold. Doesn’t he know his actions have consequences?


	3. Science Friction

Another day, another ache. I still feel like shit. Luckily today is Friday, so I can look forward to a pretty straight forward day and then the weekend. I have science before lunch, which means I get to be in the same class as Len, but also Gumi and her clique. So that’s great: two birds, no stones. Our teacher, Mr Kiyoteru, was holding a bunch of supplies for us to use to prepare for our science fair projects. Of course, everyone was chatting amongst themselves, getting their work done, and it was a surprisingly chill class... 

Until Gumi comes along, anyway. Which she did. 

“Ahhh, sorry I’m late Mr Kiyoteru!” She said, pretending to look flustered and distressed. Being a rather chill guy himself, he just looks at Gumi unamused. “You do know that if you show up late again, you’re going to get detention, right?” Gumi smiles embarrassingly, and hands him her lateness ticket. “Yes, yes, I know, Mr Kiyoteru.” I roll my eyes as she goes to her friends, who happen to sit a person away from Len and I. One of the girls that sits with Gumi, Maika, happens to have a very strong Spanish accent. I don’t know much about her, except the fact that she’s pretty... energetic. 

“Hiiiii Gumiiii!!!” She yells, and Gumi saunters back to her. “Hey chica!” 

They sit together and immediately begin talking to each other. Classic. 

“Honestly, would NOT mind being in Maika’s grasps,” Len says, and I fling the marker cap at him. “Gross. Focus on your science project, cassanova.” Len giggles through his teeth, and begins to color in the title of his board like an elementary school child. I was aiding with his project since we partnered up to work on it together. I still didn’t understand why Mr Kiyoteru allowed for him to do a project based on sports and not something actually scientific, but it worked. 

“Oh come on, I have scientific evidence in those paragraphs on how the size of the balls effect the weight and thus conflicts with how to use them for their associated games. It’s science!” Len says, and Mr Kiyoteru fixes his glasses and agrees. “Yep, anything goes! That’s what I love about these science fairs, we’re not restricted to one subject and it’s fun for all grades to see, even if it’s just a tenth and eleventh grade project.” 

Mr Kiyoteru walks to the other side of the classroom to help with another student, and Len beams at me. “See? Hiyama gets it!” Len states proudly, and I roll my eyes. “Hey, I told you to only call me by my last name until you graduate, Len.” He said, and Len laughs. 

“Okay, whatever you say, dork.” I retort, returning to working on our project. A few minutes go by, before Gumi comes by to interrupt our work. “Hey, Len.” She said seductively, and I look up to see how amused he is. “Your project’s pretty cool, I like it.” She says, and Len nods in her direction. “Why, thank you. One up!” He saids to me, and I roll my eyes. “How did you get so intelligent, Len?” Gumi says, tilting her head seductively. “I would tell you, but curiosity can kill the cat, wouldn’t it Kitten?” Len flirts back, and I felt like throwing up in my mouth. 

“I guess that’s why I let the cat out of the bag; I’m feeling murderous.” Gumi smirks back.

Oh, God. If this continues anymore, I’m going to have an accident. A fist fight accident. 

“Guess you’ll have to take that murderous wafer of yours to my place for some tutoring, right?” Len flirts back, and at that point I physically gagged. I grabbed my eraser and flung it at Len, hitting his chest. “Ah! Rin-chan is violent!” Len laughs, and I stood up. “Hell yeah, I’m violent, you little-“

Mr Kiyoteru walks over to us to stop whatever the heck was happening. “Okay, that’s enough, get back to work. And no throwing equipment in the lab!” He states, and walks around us to help someone else. I look to Gumi, who just glared at me with some sort of distaste and walks away. What’s her problem? 

“Okay, class, we have five more minutes. I’m not going to be in for a week due to personal problems, so if you have any questions for me, feel free to email.”

At that point, everyone started packing up. Just as I was putting some of my written work away in my bag, Gumi walks past me and accidentally dumps her school grade glue on me. “Oh shit! I’m so, so sorry Rin!” She exclaims with fake concern, while my mouth hangs open in shock. 

“YOU BITCH!” I yell, and before I could go and throw a slap in Gumi’s direction, Len pulls me back. “Rin, watch your language! You have one mark, two more of those and you’re going to detention.” Mr Kiyoteru says, and I angrily glare back at Gumi, who was just smirking evilly at me. Her little friend was laughing in the back. “I’ll go get you some napkins,” Len says, and he went and asked Mr Kiyoteru to go get what he needed. 

Without saying much else, Gumi walked out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang, and I cursed her in my head while there was a shit ton of glue on my shirt. Fucking fantastic. 

~~

“Why do you even flirt with her? She’s literally the devil,” I tell Len while we waited in line to get lunch. Len takes a bite of an apple he took, and shrugs. “Hey, she’s pretty. I like pretty.” Len then tosses the half eaten apple into the trash can like a basketball, but misses terribly. “Shit.” 

“Another thing, didn’t you see her copulate with the English teacher? Clearly you’re out of her league by default,” I say, grabbing a tray and waiting for the lunch lady to slap the mac and cheese on it. “Yeah, I guess, but I like flirting. It’s fun.” Len says proudly, grabbing a tray for his share. “You’re a pig, Len.” I retort, and Len shrugs. “The way of man, I guess.” Once he was served his “meal”, one of Len’s friends call over for him. 

“Yo, Len!” Called out a red haired guy, who I think goes by the name Fukase? And Len winks at me. “My boys need me. See you later!” and off he goes. I sigh, and walk to the emptiest table there is. I don’t even know why I bother to eat this shit, but here I am. Eating this shit. Alone. At the back of the cafeteria. 

Before I could shove a spoonful of mac and cheese into my mouth, I noticed Miku walk in, and I ducked under my table to ensure she doesn’t catch me. 

Shitshitshitshitshitshit-

Despite this going on for a few days now since the confession, it still catches me off guard. I see her walking closer to the line, talking with... Maika?? What the fuck? She’s friends with Gumi’s friends? Suddenly I didn’t feel like eating anymore. I grab my lunch tray, leaving the mac and cheese behind and covering my face with it to make my getaway. Luckily I managed to pass by other students who were standing in my way, and unseen by Miku. I sigh of relief, sitting across the cafeteria from where I was. Unfortunately, there was another student sitting at the table, so I had to make conversation. 

“Uh... hi. Can I sit here?” I ask, and she just timidly nods and looks away. Great, a shy guy. After a few seconds of constantly looking back to make sure I’m not in any visual distance to Miku, I turned to the timid girl. 

“Hi... so... what’s your name?” I ask, and the girl looks up at me in surprise. “Um, me?” She asks, and then her face goes red in realization that we’re the only two people at this desk. I decided to humor her. “Yeah. My name’s Rin.” I say, and she looks to the side. “M-Miki.” She says, and I smile at her. “You have a really pretty name!” I say, and she smiles at me. “Thank you.” 

“So, what grade are you in?” I ask, and she shifts in her seat. “N-ninth grade.” She says meekly, and I smile wider. “Oh, cool, a freshman! So you’re new to the school then, right?” I say, and Miki nods. “How do you like it so far?” I ask. Miki shakes her head. “It... It’s okay... I don’t know.” She responds, and I shrug. “Yeah, it’s okay. I don’t know either, haha.” 

“Rin?” 

Shit. 

Miku caught me.

“Oh hiiiIIIII MIKU!” I say awkwardly, and she finally walks over to me with Maika, who looks at me with confusion. “Hi... you! I don’t know you!” She says, smiling at Miki. Miki timidly waves. “Oh she’s... she’s my girlfriend,” I say immediately, making both Miki and Miku’s eyes widened. “W-what?” Miki says, and I awkwardly push myself closer to the wall so it’d look like we were closer. “Y-yeah! Girlfriends.” I say, and Miku’s face went from shocked to disappointed to hurt within seconds. “Oh cool, uh... I’ll leave you two alone then. Bye.” Miku says sheeply, walking away with Maika, who was still just as confused as ever. 

Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck...

“I just met you,” Miki says awkwardly, and I rub my face with both of my hands. “I’m sorry, Miki, I don’t know why I said that. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” I tell her, and Miki stands up and walks away with her tray and bag in a hurry. Great. That was pathetic. Why did I do that??

~~

After a whole week of avoiding Miku even further out of pure embarrassment, the science fair finally rolls in. The school day was pushed to Monday just for this event, so everyone was vibing pretty well knowing there was no work to do besides enjoy the event. The gymnasium is covered in glitter and banners screaming, “Welcome to the Fair!” and a participant list filled with all the team members that put their projects up for display. It’s basically the entire tenth and eleventh grades, and so everyone most likely had a partner to work with to complete their shit for space. Aside from the glorious works of science, there is also a stage and finger food, as well as light music lightly playing from the ceiling speakers. 

The cool part; no school schedule, but it’s also not mandatory to show up. Which is good for me, because I’m hoping Miku didn’t come up. Despite being full of students, teachers and parents alike, it’s pretty easy to spot Miku out, and I relaxed a little when I couldn’t. Len came over to me holding a cup of punch in both hands and a plate full of chips and cookies in his mouth. 

“So glaf uf comb mafit!” Len said, and I grab a cup so he could hold his plate. “Speak English, you fuck.” I say, and he bows lightly. “Thank you, you have spared me of my curse.” I roll my eyes. “I said, ‘glad you could make it!’” I lift up the cup to drink the punch. “Yeah, it’s almost as if I’m supposed to be here,” I said, after finishing the drink. “Yeah!” He says in response. “I just hope that I can avoid Miku for a while.” I admit to him, and mid-bite of his cookie, he asks, ”Hm? Why?” “You know why, Len.” 

“Yeah but I thought you got over that? Especially with the whole Miki thing?”

“Oh god, don’t bring that up.” 

“But it was fucking hilarious! I can NOT believe you actually did that!”

I pick up a golf ball off our table and threw it at Len.

“Not the face!”

And I leave, annoyance probably plastered on my face. What a dolt! An absolute melon head! I’ll throw a dictionary at his head when I get the chance so he can study himself and get a grip. He keeps meddling in my love life when he has no clue how to keep a girl for more than 5 minutes! He had no right to bring that up...

“Hey, Kagamine.” The voice that calls my last name irritates me for some reason, and as I look to see who owned the voice I shivered with disgust. Gumi. 

“What are you doing here?” I ask, feeling quite stupid since it’s a school event. “It’s a school science fair, duh.” Gumi says, rolling her eyes. I exhale. “Right, I nearly forgot since you cloud my brain with brain cancer cells.” Gumi pouts her lip and crosses her arms, careful not to spill her drink. “That’s a weird way to say, ‘stupid’.” I glare at her, making sure to not lose my temper since we’re in a public setting. “Whatever, I have a question for you anyway. Have you seen Miku anywhere?” Gumi scoffs and takes a sip of her juice. “Why would I help you?” She says, and my shoulders slump. “I don’t know, maybe it’ll make up for your dumb accident of spilling glue on my fucking shirt,” I respond bitterly, which makes Gumi roll her eyes again. “Oh, that wasn’t an accident.” She says, and I glare at her some more.

“Listen, if you don’t tell me where Miku is, I’m going to find a way to make sure you get in deep trouble.” 

That seemed to pique Gumi’s interest. “Oh yeah? And how do you suppose you’ll do that? I bet you washed the glue off your shirt by now.”

At that, I smirked. “I know you’re in cahoots with the English teacher.” 

Once Gumi heard that, she spit her juice back into her cup and looked around to make sure nobody heard what I said. 

“You fucking wouldn’t,” she said, and I smile even wider. “I would, and I have digital proof.” Gumi seemed to get really angry at that. “Listen here you little cunt,” Gumi said, and I raise my hand up. “No need to fight me. I just want you to tell me where Miku is.” Gumi continued to stare angrily at me, before giving in to my blackmail. “Apparently she had went through the exit before the whole thing even started and left. That’s all I know.” Gumi said defeatedly. I smile and raise my nose up a little. 

“Thank you.”

“I’m going to fucking cut you if you dare say anything about me and Mr Shion.” 

“No need, I won’t.” I say, and I walk out of the gymnasium to use the restroom without worrying that Miku will spot me. Excellent, now all that’s left to do is continue to avoid her until I gradua-


	4. Monogamy

As soon as I took a left turn towards the restrooms, a hand had pulled on my arm and brought me inside a room. I’m screaming in horror, but the hand covering my mouth was muffling the sounds. The room is dark and it’s so stuffy that it’s causing me to sweat a little. I heard the door lock; oh my god I’m going to get killed in a school closet!!

Despite my best efforts to scream any louder than the decibels my voice can already reach, it was no use as the hand was perfectly shaped against my face curviture. I soon grew tired of screaming, so I stopped, causing the thief to put their hand down. I’m breathing in and out, getting ready to scream again if necessary, but I decide the thief isn’t going to hurt me yet since they totally could have knocked me out cold if they wanted to. 

“Rin, relax, I’m not going to hurt you.” 

Oh, that voice. That wonderful, beautiful voice. So comforting, yet so irritating all the same. I know that voice.

“What the everlasting FUCK, Miku??” I yell as she turns on the lights. Miku lifted her hands up in defense to quiet me down. “I’m sorry, I just needed to get you alone so I can talk to you.” Oh, oh, so scaring me and making me think I was going to die is a GREAT introduction to that, for sure! “THEN WHY IN THE WIDE WIDE EARTH DIDN’T YOU JUST ASK ME?!” I scream, my eyes about to pop out of my eye sockets. “You’ve been avoiding me. Also, Len told me that your phone shattered.” She says matter-of-factly, and my face relaxes. “Oh, right.”

Miku sighs, and sets her hands on my shoulders, causing my face to feel warm. “This is all so wrong,” she starts, and I throw my shoulders up. “You think?” I respond sarcastically, making Miku move her vision to mine. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I just want to talk.” I relax my shoulders, and she takes her hands off of me. “Please, never do that again.” I say, resting a hand on my forehead. “I won’t, I won’t.” She says, holding herself in her arms like it’s cold. 

At first we were just standing in this closet, silence had fallen over us. 

“Len told me that girl wasn’t actually your girlfriend,” Miku started to break the silence. “God dammit,” I remark, throwing my head back slightly. “Though, honestly, I figured it out eventually on my own anyway. You’re a social recluse,” Miku states, smiling at me. “There was no way you would have moved on that fast.”  
That caused me to stare at her. “Seriously?” I ask, and she laughs. Oh, my god, that laugh. I felt my heart catch in my throat. “I... I gave it some thought.” Miku says, pushing some hair behind her ear. “What was there to think about?” I tell her, and she sighs. “I don’t want to hurt you. Not you. God, anyone but you.” She starts, and I stare intently at her. 

“You’re so headstrong and brave, and caring and empathetic... I was like, ‘I don’t deserve her! She can do better!’” She continues, and I felt my stomach warm up as well. That sounds so familiar. “I’m still not sure how I want to go about this because I... I’ve got a reputation that I’m easy,” she says, blushing slightly. Huh, you think? “What’s that got to do with anything?” I ask, and she stares at me sadly. “I love it... Or, at least, I think I do. It’s like an addiction. If someone wants to take a bite out of me, I just... let it happen.” She inhales sharply, and grabs my hand. “I know I wouldn’t cheat on you. But I’m afraid you don’t know. I’m... afraid.” She states sadly, looking back into my eyes.

God, she’s so charming. No wonder she has a body count, she’s spectacular with her speech and just... look at her! Always wearing those cute twin tails, puffy scrunchies and everything. She dresses so femininely, wearing skirts and matching colors. You can tell she takes care of herself, and it shows. Her hair is a beautiful teal green hue, which compliments her soft pale apricot-ty skin. Her eyes are greener than the greenest grasses. She’s just so irresistable.

After a few seconds of staring at her, I felt my insides swell up with butterflies. My breathing went faster, and I just felt my inhibitions fall off of me. I set my hand on the back of Miku’s head and I pulled her in for a kiss, making her flinch at first but then she just melts into my lips. At first it was slow and soft, but then we picked up the pace, practically making out. I let my body melt into hers, and she used her hands to pull me closer by my waist. I set my hands on her cheeks, hungrily wanting more. 

This felt amazing. She’s so soft. I wanted more, and she clearly wanted more too. It was almost as if we were resisting each other for so long that a bomb had gone off and we just couldn’t contain it anymore. Eventually she split from my lips, migrating to my neck, and I exhaled. This. Felt. Amazing.

Soon Miku had moved her hand to my lower back and was trying to move it further down towards my butt, but I had to use my will power to stop her. “What’s wrong?” She softly spoke, sending shivers down my spine. “We’re in public, dummy.” I respond just as quietly, making her chuckle. “We’re in the janitor’s closet. Super tight and empty, just for us two.” She says, batting her eyes at me. 

My eyes widened. “Wait, janitor’s closet??” I straightened my body posture, snapping out of the moment that we just had. “How the fuck did you get in here??” I question, flabbergasted at her attempts to get me alone. Miku grabs the nearest broom and winks at me. “That’s for me to know, and for you to never find out.” She says playfully, and I push her softly. “Oh my god, you stole the janitor’s keys didn’t you?” I ask, and she beams at me. 

“I’m not telling.”

I smile back at her, my eyes softened at the sight of her. “Hey, Miku,” I start, and she doesn’t break eye contact with me. “Yes, Rin?” 

I grab her hands and I give them a soft squeeze. “I trust you.”

She smiled so wide that her eyes had closed. “I love you.” She responds, making me smile wider. 

I give her another kiss. “C’mon, let’s get out of here. It’s pretty gross,” I say, and she laughs. “Okie-dokie!” 

We walk back together into the gymnasium and hoard the snack table, grabbing all the cookies and chips we can. We spent the rest of our time looking at all of the boards that everyone created. I showed Miku mine, and she showed me hers. 

“The Science of Kissing? What’s up with that?” I ask her, and she chuckles. “I wasn’t going to do a science project and NOT make it interesting,” she says, and I fold my arms. She smiles at me. “So I did the first thing that came to mind: kissing you.” That made me widen my eyes, and I playfully shove her. “Oh my god, stop.” I say, and she laughs. I read her project. Huh. Kissing releases oxytocins, a hormone related to love. It helps to keep people monogamous. Interesting.

~~

By the time I got home, I felt exhausted. Who knew that being around people would be so tiring? My throat felt dry and I felt thirsty, though I blame it on the screaming that I did earlier. Man, that was crazy. 

I try to avoid my mom at all costs. I don’t want to be stuck in another conversation with her. I immediately go up the steps to my room and repeat my usual process. Shits on the floor, I back-flop onto my bed. I inhale the cinnamon apple air freshener that my mom installed a few weeks back, and just let the events of today sink in. 

Wow, that kiss. I’ve never felt anything like that before. It was exhilirating. Is that love? Is that what romance is? I didn’t feel that with my past relationships. I have dated three guys before me, and it felt... platonic. Like I was just existing with them, like a ghost. My first romance was with a boy in 6th grade, and that lasted two months because it turns out that he only liked me because of my chest. That was a MAJOR turn off. The second boy I had dated was a complete jerk, who eventually ignored me whenever I tried to talk to him. I don’t even know why I allowed him to be my boyfriend, but I guess that was what was cool back during freshman year.

And the third one resembled somewhat of a quality relationship since he was super kind to me, but I felt nothing for him. It felt bad because he treated me like a princess, but I just didn’t feel anything more than platonic appreciation for him. He was my first kiss, but it wasn’t nearly as electrifying as the make out session that I had earlier today. 

I turn in my bed, considering all of those experiences. I guess... I guess I am a lesbian, then? 

Coming to this realization made me frown. I live in a very ignorant town, where although it’s okay to be gay here, it’s usually frowned upon or made fun of. My mom’s one of those people. Once there was a gay parade happening in our town center and when she saw it on the news, she scoffed in disgust and called them bigoted insults. At the time, I didn’t really put any mind to it, if anything that made that feel more normal to hate on gays more than anything. 

But now I have a girlfriend. And I’m a girl. 

I cuddle into myself, feeling sad about this. I should be happy. I should be celebrating my romance, my happiness. But instead, I feel disgusting. I feel shameful. My mom’s already so uptight about my grades and me passing school, there’s no way she’ll accept me dating Miku. She’ll disown me. 

To keep myself from crying because I hate doing that, I changed my brain channel to Miku’s love interests. I’ve known her for a long time, although I’ve never seen her settle down with anyone. She’s never been one to stick to one person for long. I’m sure she’s dated both guys and girls before, but they were never a perfect fit for her. 

I wonder if that’s why she decided to turn to the life of crashing college parties and shagging loads of people. She has tons of friends around school and most of the boys have already gotten their pants damp with her. How she maintains an awesome school record astounds me, honestly. Usually people who play with other people are stereotyped as bad guys, but Miku isn’t a bad person. So why does she throw herself away like that? What makes her so influential? 

I was considering sending Miku a text to ask her, but once I grabbed my phone I decided against it. Strangely enough, though, Len didn’t text me, either. He usually does, to tell me about some crazy thing that happened to him after school, but there was nothing. Strange, but I assumed he just got caught up in basket ball or football practice. I set my phone to charge and go about my merry way with social media, and the killer entertainment of studying for school.

~~

My phone buzzed, waking me up from my slumber. I grabbed my phone from under my pillow and checked to see what I recieved. It was a text from Miku, which made me smile. 

“Hey, are you up?” 

“Yeah, now I am.” I type, and eagerly await her response.

“Aww, did I wake you?” 

I smirk at that. I can read it in her voice. She’s so cute.

“I want you to meet me somewhere, is your mom awake?” 

I can feel my cheeks warming up already. 

“At this late at night? It’s almost 1 in the morning.” 

“Yeah I know it’s pretty late, but I found something. Please?” 

I sigh, and begin typing my response.

“Oh okay, but any trouble we get into is being pinned on you.”

I bet she laughed at that. She totally did. 

”:) I’ll send you the address.”

Almost immediately, I am given the location of where we’re going to meet.  
“Wait, you want to go there?” 

I type back, and the ellipses glow again.

“Yeah, and make sure you wear your coat, it started to snow!”

I set my phone down and look at my closet. Oh boy, I hope her waking me up is worth it.


	5. Slow

Just like she said, it is indeed snowing. Not much is falling down, but a lot has definitely landed already. Luckily I opted for my boots so I can trudge the weather, because this trip is going to be a lengthy one. 

Although you could say that’s an over exaggeration since it’s only a few minutes away but still lengthy nonetheless. I hop onto a bus and wait for my bus stop. 

Finally arriving, I am met with the sight of a stairway, leading up into the mountains. Up top this flight of stairs, rests the oldest library in this town. The problem with this location however, is that it’s supposed to be closed. I walk up the steps anyway, knowing that that’s where Miku told me to meet her. I wasn’t too sure what to expect, but that seems to be a common thing with Miku. She tends to be a little... unpredictable.

“Rin, I’m so glad you could make it.” She says once she spots me. I wave to her and she kisses me on my cheek. “Check this out, I found a way into the library.” She says, raising her eyebrows. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” I tell her, crossing my arms judgingly and raising an eyebrow. “It’s definitely not, and that’s why I want to do it.” Miku says excitedly. I don’t change my posture. “No, Miku. That’s illegal. We’re trespassing.” I tell her matter-of-factly. “And... fun!” She says, and I sigh. “No-” 

She smiles at me and grabs my hand. “We’re going in, c’mon!” She says, pulling me with her. “What-- No!!” I yell, trying to escape her grasp. Jeez, does she ever skip arm day or something? Her grip’s insane! ... Wait-

“Okay, okay, stop pulling me before I slip on the ice,” I say, and she lets me go. “Here it is! The back entrance.” She says, and I rub my face. “You really want to do this, huh?” I tell her, and she nods. “I have to show you something else,” she says excitedly, and manages to break through the door. Once inside, we were greeted with the insanely huge corridor that leads to the big center at the bottom. The library is huge- it’s filled with all sorts of things. The center at the bottom consists of the resting place, as well as all the computers and stuff. 

The ceiling was partially cut into with stained glass, but the places that didn’t have sky-lighting was painted with religious imagery and folklore. It’s a beautiful library, and even more beautiful in the moonlight because the stained glass illuminated the center with so many beautiful colors. 

“Holy wow,” I say, walking closer to the staircase to observe the corridor better.   
“I know, pretty awesome, right?” She says, and I smile at her. “Yeah, but this is still a really stupid idea.” I respond, and she chuckles. I just can’t get over her laugh... “I actually knew about this for a while,” Miku starts, and I lean on the railing for support. “Gumi took me here a few months back. We weren’t talking then,” she says, looking down sadly. I hinge myself at Gumi’s name, but I try not to be disrespectful about her. 

“The good thing is, it has great acoustics.” Miku picks up again, smiling joyfully at me. “Come on, let’s go down stairs.” She grabs my hand and pulls me to the grand staircase, where she skips down the stairs in excitement. “Where are we even going?” I tell her halfway through the steps, and she’s already at the bottom. “Hurry up and you’ll see!” She calls after me, and then proceeds to make a right. I decided to hop onto the railing and slide down, landing on my feet at the end. 

I checked to see if Miku saw, but she didn’t. I frown softly at that. Oh well...

“This is the freight elevator. It’s only allowed for staff.” She says, and my eyes go wide. “Oh no, we are not going to get into any more trouble, Miku.” I tell her, and she grabs my arm and waves it. “Come on, Rin! What we’re about to see is pretty amazing!” She says, and I sigh. “Okay, okay, let’s make it quick before someone catches us.” 

Miku excitedly starts of the freight elevator, and suddenly I hear a thunderous noise. The platform starting rising, and by the time it made it to our stop, the gates that lock it have opened. “How are you so good at getting into these things?” I ask, and Miku smiles at me as she turns around on the platform. “My brother taught me.” She says proudly, and as I position myself into the elevator, the door locks and makes a really loud sound again. 

Soon we were travelling downwards, with a full view of the elevator functions. “God, freight elevators give me the creeps,” I say, and Miku nods in response. 

Soon we reached the stop, and upon arriving we were greeted with a rusty looking door. We entered an extremely tiny hallway, and Miku happily opens the door with ease. Upon entering, I’m met with surprise as I gaze upon what Miku wanted me to see.

An auditorium.

“What the hell?” I ask, and Miku giddies up. “Isn’t it amazing? It’s an empty auditorium!” She says happily, running and skipping to get to the stage. It wasn’t a particularly grand auditorium, which gives me the impression that this auditorium is held for staff meetings and stuff (which would explain the white board behind the curtains,) but it was still pretty big to have an echo. 

Seeing Miku look so excited is amazing but I’m extremely confused as to why she brought me here. 

When Miku notices my lack of enthusiasm, she drops her shoulders. “What?” I question, and she sets her hands on her hips. “C’mon up here.” She says, and I obliged. We both went up onto the stage by climbing up, full view of the empty abyss of the auditorium. The lights were already on here, so I assume she already turned them on before contacting me. Did she plan this?

“Okay, watch me. I have something for you.” She says, closes her eyes, and then she inhales to prepare herself. I look at her with confusion.

Miku begins to hum a tune, which slowly becomes a melody. I was taken aback immediately: I didn’t know she could sing as well?? Soon her melody became a hymn, and then she snapped her fingers and opened her eyes. She smiles at me, and then begins to sing a song. 

“In the dead of the night, I see a raccoon there.  
There, in the dead of night, a raccoon.  
He was looking for substance, sustenance, subtlety assured  
he crawled where he wasn’t supposed to be.

A jungle to him seemed like a world beyond,  
anything that he’s ever seen.  
Yet nothing about it intrigued him, for he was very hungry.  
Malnourished is the drive to safety,  
what does that say about love?

She needed companionship, most certainly  
for without it she’d be in defeat  
Without the warmth of the blue ocean floors,  
she couldn’t feel the sun.  
It took a lot of courage to ask her to dance,  
in the dead of night  
It took a lot of courage to dive into uncertainty  
Only in the dead of night.”

She ends her song with another hum, and then she exhales. 

I blink my eyes, feeling speechless. “I... Wow...” I say, and she smiles wider. “I wrote it myself, after I kissed you. I’m the raccoon,” she says with a slight blush, making my own face warm up. “So all that is for me?” I ask her, and she nods. “If that’s okay,” she says, twirling her body and inching closer to me. “Why would I mind? It was beautiful,” I tell her, and she flirtatiously stares at me. “You think so?” She says, her nose practically touching mine. I smile awkwardly, unprepared for what she’s planning to do.

“Oh, I know so, that was enchanting. You-you’re so beautiful,” I tell her, and I feel Miku grab my butt side. She bites her bottom lip, not taking her eyes off of me. “Well, this raccoon’s hungry...” She says seductively, and I felt my limbs go weak. She quickly sets her lips on mine, but before it could escalate I push her back softly. 

“N-nice try,” I stutter, smiling back at her. “Not in public.” 

The auditorium falls quiet as Miku studies me. She doesn’t lose her seductive expression, she’s just staring at me, making my body freeze up. She’s so tentalizing.

“It was just a kiss,” she said, moving her hands up my back softly.

I step back, feeling a wave of sadness seep into my body. 

“I want to take things slow, Miku.” I admit, still smiling. Miku however, loses her smile. 

“What do you mean?” She asks, and I felt my sins crawling up my back. 

“I mean... I don’t want people to know that we’re...”

Miku suddenly loses her seduction, her excitement, everything. 

“You... don’t want to be open about our relationship?” She says, and I feel myself sweating. “Of course I do, I would love that, but... Not right now. I...”

Miku drops her head for a few seconds, making me feel worried. “You... understand, right?” I ask, and Miku lifts her head up again. With sadness in her eyes, she nods softly. “I understand.” 

I put my hands on her shoulders to reassure her. “That means kisses too, okay?” I ask, and she nods begrudgingly. 

After a couple seconds, Miku snaps out of it and waves my arm again. “Now you try,” she says, and I blush. “Huh?” I question. “Try singing, knuckle head!” She says, and I back away. “Oh no, oh no. You know I have stage fright,” I admit, and she grabs my hands. “It’s just us two, my bunny. I won’t judge you, I promise.” She says reassuringly, and I exhale. 

“I don’t even know what song to sing,” I say. Miku squeezes my hands softly and excitedly says, “Team.”

I raise an eyebrow. 

“By Lorde? I don’t know the lyrics to that song all that well,” I admit honestly, and she sighs happily. She raises a finger and eagerly runs behind the curtain. I waited for her to return when suddenly I heard the song playing through the speakers. She came back out and raised her hand out at me. 

“Miku, what if someone hears us?” I tell her, and Miku continues to beam at me. “You trust me?” She asks, and my eyes widened slightly. 

Without another word, I grabbed her hand while looking at her and she pulled me into a twirl. She then starts to move my arms back and forth horizontally, indicating that she wants to dance. I chuckle, and play along with her. We started dancing to our own tune, to the song of course, but with no actual rhyme or reason. We were just dancing. Having fun. 

She grabbed my arms and spun me around, and I laugh, and then I lift her arm up and twirl her next. Once the chorus hit, I found myself singing along. 

“We live in cities you’ll never see on screen, not very pretty but we sure know how to run free!” 

Miku joined in, and we kept dancing. 

“Not very pretty but we sure know how to run things,”

“Livin’ in ruins of a palace within my dreams,”

and together, “and you know, we’re on each other’s team.” and as the song continued on, I stared at Miku with the utmost warmth in my chest. I can’t believe she got me to sing... and I feel comfortable. 

We inched closer to each other, and as soon as I closed my eyes and turned my head slightly, I heard the door open.

“Heyyyyy, what did I miss?” 

Miku pulls away from me, and I feel my whole face warm up now. Oh god, I probably look like a tomato. 

“Milo!!” Miku calls, and she climbs off the stage to greet her brother. 

“Hi, Rin!” He says, and I cover my face with my hands. “Please tell me you didn’t witness any of that,” I plea, and Milo chuckles. “Nope, have I should?” He asks, and I shake my head in embarrassment. “What are you doing here? I thought you went to sleep-away college,” I ask, following Miku off the stage. 

Milo takes out a remote and manually turns off the song, which impresses me. “I finished the semester and I’m back to visit my little sister.” He says, hugging Miku around her neck. “Oh, bug off,” she says playfully, and she pushes him away, causing him to laugh. 

“Where’s the other Kagamine?” Milo asks, and I shrug. “Len? I don’t know, he hasn’t really texted me in a long while.” I look to Miku to see if she knows and all she does is shrug. “Ah, cool. I still can’t get over how you both have the same last names.” I shrug and look up into the air. “It’s more common than you think.” Milo snaps his hand and does a finger gun. “To be fair, it is like, 3 in the morning so you guys might wanna wrap up... whatever it is you were doing and rest a little so we can all chill tomorrow.”

What?? 4 in the morning? How did time go by so fast?? We have to go, now!!

“Is someone coming?” I ask in a panic, and Milo shrugs it off. “No, but they will soon. C’mon, make sure you didn’t leave anything.”

And with that, we all left the library. 

“Man, how long has it been since you stopped calling me Mikuo?” Milo remarks, and I chuckle. “I was a dumb kid, okay? You guys have a striking resemblance.” Miku shrugs and crosses her arms. “I’m the better looking one.” Milo scoffs. “No way, I’m definitely better looking.” 

“Sorry Milo, but I’m gonna have to agree with Miku. Haha.” I joke, and then realized what I said. “Uh, you know, as friends! Platonic beauty,” I mention, hoping that doesn’t sound anymore suspicious. “Wait, I thought you two were dating?” He says, and my face drops. “What? How do you know?” I question, and Miku smiles embarrassingly. “I told him before you told me about that...” She says, and I glare at her angrily.   
I sigh, deciding to drop it. “Please don’t tell anyone,” I tell Milo, and he smiles reassuringly. “I won’t. May I ask why?” He says, and I look at him with sadness like a puppy dog. “You know how this neighborhood is. You saw the religious ceiling paintings... It’s kinda taboo to date the same sex.” I admit, and Milo nods in understanding. “Understood. But hey, if it helps, I think it’s pretty cool that you’re dating Miku.”

Miku just crosses her arms. “Thanks.”

“No, seriously. I’m glad it’s you, Rin. You’ll be good for her. She could use a good conscious.” Milo admits happily, making Miku punch him in the arm with the back of her hand. “I can take care of myself.” She says, and I smile awkwardly because I don’t want to criticize my girlfriend in front of her face. “Riiiight,” Milo says, giving Miku a noogie. “Ah, stop!” She yells, and they go on with that for the rest of the ride.

~~

Once I snuck back into my bed, I considered what had happened today. Miku looked really bothered when I told her that I wanted to take things slow... I don’t understand why. I mean, I kind of do, but it’s not my fault. People are just close minded... I hug my pillow, and felt a tear roll down my face. It’s not my fault...


	6. Lookout

As always, I wake up to fulfill my usual routine. Freshen up, loosen my bladder, and trash talk the hell out of my appearance. But today was somewhat different. I woke up feeling -well, still like shit- but I had a certain eagerness in me. I knew what it was. I checked my phone and my excitement only grew from there. Who knew having a girlfriend would be so uplifting?

“Hiiii bunny <3” was the first thing she said, and I felt myself chuckle.

“That’s such a dumb nickname,” I respond, and immediately I see those glowing ellipses. Amazing, she’s awake too.

“Aw come on, it reminds me of your signature bow :)” 

I smile to myself, and begin to write the next message.

“I haven’t worn it in forever, I can’t believe you remembered it.” 

“It was so cute on you! It made you look so innocent and adorable <3”

I roll my eyes and tried finding it in my tiny, cluttered room. And there it was, hanging off my vanity’s mirror... holding thing. It was black, like my soul, so my bow was definitely not hard to miss since that was white. On it is a bunch of make up stuff that I rarely use since I have low energy most days, but today I contemplated putting on eyeliner. I look back at my phone and began typing my response.

“I bet you love that, huh?” I type, actually attempting to flirt. It probably falls flat, but whatever.

“Oh I do <3 I love everything about you, ribbon <3” 

I felt my face warm up. Ribbon... that’s unique. I suddenly felt warm in my abdomin. My mind is playing games with me. All of a sudden, Miku calls me something so cute, and the next I imagine her calling me that here in my bed, next to me... On top of me... 

I shake my head, trying to snap out of it. I have to get ready for school. Today is a Monday schedule which means I have classes with Miku today, which makes me feel happy. I check my phone to see if she responded, and her disappearance reminds me that we have school. But I did notice something else.  
Len didn’t text me this morning, either?

~~

I decided to wear the bow with another striped shirt and high waisted jeans to hide my belly. With some eyeliner and mascara, and a little bit of lip gloss, and a black velvet choker I got from Hot Topic, I transformed myself into what they call a “basic bitch”. Topped off with my favorite pair of boots and a navy green bomber jacket for the winter, I was set to go to school. 

Usually I hate pretty-ing myself up for such a shitwreck of a place to avoid getting attention on me, plus it makes me feel even MORE self conscious, I thought it would be nice to experience a little change. When I met up with Miku before class, her eyes widened and she had a smile on her face. 

She had leaned into my ear and whispered, “I wish I could kiss the lipgloss off your lips,” before entering the classroom, making me blush. We had math together, and despite me sitting in front of Miku usually, I can still sense her staring at me, which made it personally harder to focus. When it was time to pack up, I was hoping to spend more time with her before our next class, but she was already chasing some other girl out into the hallways, trying to start a conversation with them instead. And that kind of hurt. A lot. 

It was finally time for lunch and usually I would come down here with Len but he was no where to be found. I had to sit alone in my usual spot, and although I always do, it felt odd knowing Len wasn’t actually here. I was eating this dumb peanut butter and jelly sandwich, watching everyone else hang out with their friends, while I’m here alone. I noticed Miku with that same girl and Miki, chatting it up and making me feel green. I had to look back at this peach pot they give us with the food to stop myself from glaring. Is the pit from the peach more poisonous than the pit in my stomach?

Luckily, my thoughts were interrupted by one particular person. 

“Uh, hi... Rin, is it?” He said, and I nod. “Mind if I sit with you?” He asks, and I nod towards the opposite side of the desk. “My name’s Oliver, one of Len’s friends.” He tells me, and I nod again. “Yeah, I think he’s told me about you. What’s up?” I respond, and he takes a bite of his own sandwich. “I’m just worried about him. He’s not in school today, and he hasn’t responded to my text messages, and I was wondering if he talked to you at all?” He tells me, making me think. That’s even stranger, huh? He’s so talkative and friendly. It’s weird that he wouldn’t let me know of his absence. 

I observe Oliver’s body and posture. He seemed like a meekly little kid, with one yellow eye and one glass looking eye, which meant he was partially blind. He didn’t seem like an extroverted kind of person, which I would have expected from Len’s group of friends. He’s also wearing a black tee with a painting of a bird on it. Must be into them. “Sorry, he hasn’t texted me in a while either. Have any idea what might’ve happened to him?” I ask, and Oliver begins to look uneasy. 

“Well, we were hanging out at the basket ball court last night after school. He, Fukase, Piko, Ted, Armin and I all were playing when all of a sudden an argument broke out between Piko and Ted. This caused the group to call it a night, and I walked Ted home to help him cool off while it seemed like Len stayed with the others. After that, Ted told me that he and Piko had bad blood lately because he found out that he had access to illegal things, and that made him uneasy. He said that was all he knew, and that I should be careful... but of all of the boys from our group, I know that Len is a good person. I’m scared that he may have gotten hurt.” 

All this information was kind of hard to swallow. I took another bite of my sandwich, waiting for him to go on if he had anymore information.

“What illegals things does he have?” I ask, and Oliver tensed up. “Guns, I think. And after last night, I haven’t seen any of the boys. I was hoping Len at least texted you, since he trusts you a lot.” Worry began to fill my body. There’s no way he could have gotten hurt, right? There’s just no way. 

“Thank you, Rin. I won’t disturb you any longer. If you have any more information, here's my email. Itadakimasu.” 

And as meekly as he arrived, he leaves.

I stand myself up and toss my food, asking the dean of our school to use the bathroom and heading straight for the school yard. 

I run past the security guards and opened the doors, and immediately scan the yard for one particular girl. When I found her, I ran towards her and yelled. 

“Hey, Juliet!”

A bunch of people looked my way, but I got the attention of the person I needed to see the most. Gumi. She was with two other girls huddled up in one circle, observing the others who were either playing ball or doing something else. 

“Ugh, what do you want, freakshow,” she says, and I grab the fabric of her shirt and pushed her against the fence, making the other girls gasp.  
“Where’s Len?” I ask her, and she starts freaking out. “Assistence! I need assistence!” She calls, making one of the teachers come over. “What is going on over here?” Calls Kaito Shion, the 12th grade English teacher. Oh boy...

I immediately let go of Gumi, hoping I wouldn’t get called to the principal’s office. “Nothing, Mr Shion.” I say, and he folds his arms. He has dark blue hair, fine asian features, and definitely looks young enough to be 25, just about. He’s pretty cute according to a lot of seniors, and I guess I can see it, but that’s still pretty fucking gross. 

Gumi glared at me, knowing damn well if she rats me out, I’ll spill the dirt on her. I love having power over her.

“Yeah, never mind. It was just a roach,” she said bitterly, making Kaito sigh responsibly. “Please, do not call for assistence when it is not needed. That is dangerous to the others.” Gumi smiles at him as if to say, “okay honey,” and that makes me cringe inside. Kaito smiles back at her and then walks away.

“Now listen here you spoiled brat,” I spit, getting into Gumi’s face. She pushes me away but I stand my way. “What do you know about Len?” I say, and she hunches her shoulders angrily. “Oh, you ask like I babysit him. What’s it to you, you his girlfriend now?” She spits, making the other girls snicker. I breathe out of my nose like a bull, feeling like punching her lights out. 

“A little birdie told me that he’s absent and he hasn’t talked to me for a good few hours. You definitely seem to be pretty friendly with him despite the circumstances,” I continue, looking towards the direction that Kaito walked. Gumi growls, making her get into my face this time. “I swear to god if word gets out,” she says, and I smile evilly at her. “I’m not a stag like you, Gumi. I won’t say anything...” I say, making her relax just a little but still keeping her angriness at me. 

“But you have to say something. Where’s Len?” I ask again, losing my smirk. “What’s with you and asking for these bitches?” She questions, and I scoff. “Oh, is having a genuine concern for my friends a rarity to you, skank?” I question, and Gumi ends up pulling my hair. In defense, I punched her in the waist, making her flinch while reaching for more hair. She pulls me down to the ground with her, and we start trying to fight each other. She scratched my face with her fake acrylic nails, and I attempted to knock her face with my knuckles.

Almost immediately, a bunch of people started surrounding us, and cheering on for us to continue fighting. As quickly as it started, however, is as quickly as it ends because some of the teachers called for security and we had to be broken up. “Rin. Gumi. My office. NOW.” Said the principal, and I knew I was screwed. 

~~

“What was that stunt that you both pulled?” Principal Luka had questioned from her outlandishly fancy desk-chair, and I folded my arms bitterly. “She started it,” Gumi said, pointing my direction, and I made a raspberry at her. “I don’t care who started it,” she says sternly, setting her hands on her desk. “Fighting is against the rules. What was that all about?” She questions, and I slouch even more. 

“I just wanted to know where my friend is and she wouldn’t tell me.” I admitted, and Gumi scoffs. “Uh, no, more like she GOT INTO MY PERSONAL SPACE and DEMANDED I tell her where her friend went.” Gumi argues, and I sit myself up. “I only did that because I know you, and you wouldn’t have told me anyway!” I yell, and Gumi begins to get defensive.

“ENOUGH, you two. You will go to detention today after school ends, and a phone call to your parents. Do you understand?” Luka says, and I feel my stomach drop. “No, no, please, Principal Luka, I can’t let my mom know about this,” I cry, and Gumi begins to panic as well. “Yes, Principal Luka, please don’t call my parents, I’ll be a good girl, I promise!” 

Principal Luka shakes her head, and she sends us out to dismiss us. “It is obligatory that we call your parents to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Maybe you should have thought about it before you did it. Now hurry on to your next class.” Gumi quickly scurries out of the room, and I felt everything inside me die. Not only do I have to spend an hour alone in a room with Gumi, but my mom’s going to find out too? God, kill me please.

“Rin, before you leave,” Principal Luka calls, and I turn around to face her. 

“I am very disappointed in you, Rin. You’re one of our best students, and this is how you behave? I’m hoping that this doesn’t happen again, right?” She says, sitting down in her chair, and I inhale. “Yes, Principal Luka.”

~~

We finally reach the end, and I feel upset because I didn’t see Miku all day after that class. It would have been nice to at least speak to her during intermission before dismissal, but guess not. I bitterly await my punishment, standing next to the door with my head leaned against the wall. There were still kids roaming around the school, since after school activities were usually held on Mondays and Wednesdays. Len would usually go to the gym, but guess not.  
While I’d rather be home and get homework out of the way, I have to be stuck here another hour with the rest of the troublemakers. Unbelievable.

Fortunately for Gumi, she got detention with some dude who she keeps kissing on and off, which weirds me out a ton. How many boyfriends does she have, and does Len know that? There has to be a line she’s crossing here. 

“Yeah, I got detention just for you, babe,” he said with a musky voice, and Gumi giggles. “Thank you, sweetie. I owe you one.” She says playfully, and the dude nods at her like he knows what he wants. Ugh, gross. Please get me out of here. 

“Alrighty, here we are,” said the history teacher Momo, who teaches the tenth grade. I had her last year, but we weren’t close so that makes this a little more awkward for me. “Remember that phones go into the basket, and... yeah! No noise, no talking, and no smooching!” She says, looking at Gumi and her... boy toy... Ugh. 

We entered the classroom, and like she said, we gave up our phones and took our seats. 

“If you guys don’t mind, I’m going to take attendance and then I’ll work on some class notes.” She says, setting her stuff down. I lean on my hand, feeling miserable. 

A few minutes have passed while we just stood there, feeling bored out of our minds. I look to see what Gumi was doing, and she was observing her fake tips. Typical. She always cares about how she looks, not what she should be thinking. I wonder how many people she has shagged. I don’t understand those people at all. Why can’t they just... keep it in their pants? There’s no need to play with other people’s feelings for the sake of “fun”. 

“Alright kids, please behave. I’m going to go to the bathroom real quick,” she says, standing up and stepping into the hallway. Almost immediately, the few students that were in here started talking and or throwing pens, and I noticed Gumi take out a second phone. Right, I think in my head, she can afford it. Her father makes as much money as five people do in their lifetimes. She has it sooooo easy, I say in my head.

“Heyyy chica, sorry I couldn’t go today. I’m in detention,” I hear her say, and although I try not to care, I still ease drop on her conversation. She’s talking pretty loud anyway. “Yeah, I know it was a big call back. I’m disappointed in that too. But like my dad always says, there’s always an acting career around the corner.” She says, and then chuckles. 

“Oh, definitely. I can taste the fame.” She says, twirling her warm green hair. “I gotta let you go Maika, I’ll talk to you later. This shitty phone has poor connection in here. Bye, love.” She hangs up and then turns to talk to her minion. 

Oh, so she wants to be famous, huh? Imagine what her dating a teacher would do to her dreams and wishes. I roll my eyes. Len’s similar in that sense; he wants to be a football player. Or a basketball player. Or a baseball player. Or some sort of hefty famous sport out there. He loves the games, but he loves the attention, too. It makes me wonder if he kisses Gumi’s ass just for the sake of attention. Kind of unfair, knowing that he actually has qualities that make him... well, relatively a good person. He has always cared about my well being, regardless of if it was a bug bite or a human bite. 

Actually, I think our parents thought they could make their kids breed with each other. My mom and his parents are best friends too, and when they found out that they had kids of the opposite sex, they immediately exchanged details and made us friends from the very beginning. I guess with time they gave that up, but that just goes to show you what kind of parents we have. We were babies, dammit. Why would I want to marry someone I see as my brother? And to make things worse, they obviously had to give us the same last name. Fucking bananas.

Maybe that’s why Len tried to find someone else to date. To please his mom. Maybe that’s why he leeches onto Gumi, despite her being the literal reincarnation of the Devil. He doesn’t deserve that. He deserves someone better than that. I look down to my desk, feeling sad all of a sudden. Where is he? 

~~

An hour had passed and I made it home. Usually my mom is doing something around the house, but this time she was waiting for me at the door, making me jump in fear. “Rin.” She says angrily, and I brace myself for what's to come. 

“I know, it looks bad,” I say, but she doesn’t even give me a second to explain myself. “Do you want to ruin this family, Rin?” She says, and I feel taken aback. “What? No, of course, not, mom. I was just-” “Well, it sure seems like you’re doing a hell of a good job at it.” She spits nastily, and my eyes widened. “What? Me??” I yell back, but she doesn’t move an inch. 

“I’m the one ruining this family? I have been working my ass off to get good grades just to please you,” I yell, stepping closer to my mom. “And yet you fail to realize that maybe I’m not a fucking robot, mom.” I finish, angrily staring at her. 

“You are supposed to get good grades, regardless of who it’s for. You’re supposed to be successful.” She spits, making me groan. “Oh my god, says who??” She says, and my mom steps closer to me. “Says me, that’s who! And as your mother, you have to do what I say!” She yells, making me step back a little. 

I felt my eyes water, and I blinked a few times in hopes that it would go away. “Do you even care about me??” I yell, and she doesn’t say a word. “You just care about what other people say about you, right? Fuck me and my feelings, right, mom?” I yell, and at that point she slaps me. That immediately makes the tears roll down, and my breathing begins to shake. 

“You’re grounded. No cell phone for a week.” She says, and I look back at her. “I need my phone,” I say through tears, and she just gets even angrier. “Two weeks.” I exhale, more tears falling down my face. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” I say, and she folds her arms. “Disobey me again and I’ll make the punishment worse.” She says, and walks out of the room. 

I walk to my room and throw my shit onto the floor. Belly flop onto my bed. After crying for some time, I decided that I’m going to have to find Len myself. Where could his dumbass be? Without a phone, I can’t contact him, but I think I know how I can contact someone else.

Because you know what they say; birds of a feather fly together.


End file.
